FL Man Arrested For Attempting To Use A WMD To Blow Up Popular Beach

Thanks to the phenomenal work of undercover agents, an ISIS-inspired man in Florida was arrested for planning to use a weapon of mass destruction in Key West, FL.

Harlem Suarez (aka Almlak Benitez), 23, was brought to the attention of authorities through his radical pro-ISIS Facebook posts and “Likes” on pages such as “Jihadist,” “Extraordinary Prayer for ISIS,” and “Prayers for ISIS: Weapons of our Warfare.”

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An undercover agent then got in touch with him and recorded all their communications. From Facebook messages to phone calls and even an in-person meeting to film an ISIS recruiting video. Here is what Suarez said in the video:

“I call to other brothers worldwide to create Caliphate in the middle East. Destroy our enemies against us. Let live only who are our brothers and sisters. Send our mujahideen to a different soil with tanks, missiles, gemades, and other tactical needs. American soil is the past, we will destroy america and divide it in two, we will raise our black flag on top of your white house and any president on duty (cut head). There will be no one against us, the islamic state. No matter how many brothers of us they kill … or leaders, we always will have leaders for us to follow, they will never destroy the islamic state and Abu Bakr al Baghdady. we will keep going forward, how we are now on U.S. Soil, FLORIDA, NEW YORK, TEXAS, OHIO, CALIFORNIA, MICHIGAN, CANADA THERE is a lot of us there, too. We are everywhere and we are not going to stop, until we create the caliphate and seek our enemy and kill them, where we find them.”

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Suarez later bought a dud bomb off the agent at which point he was arrested. According to the criminal complaint:

“Suarez discussed taking the bomb to a public beach, burying it in the sand, and then detonating the device remotely with the cell phone. Suarez also discussed putting bombs under police cars, in front of police officers’ homes, and possibly purchasing a vehicle and building a car bomb.”

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From the Daily Caller:

A man was charged Tuesday with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction on a Florida beach in the name of Islamic State.

Harlem Suarez, 23, of Key West, Fla., was a self-proclaimed follower of ISIS who authorities say planned to use a backpack nail-bomb to blow up a Key West beach in Florida.

“Specifically, Suarez discussed taking the bomb to a public beach, burying it in the sand, and then detonating the device remotely with the cell phone,” the criminal complaint reads. “Suarez also discussed putting bombs under police cars, in front of police officers’ homes, and possibly purchasing a vehicle and building a car bomb.”

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In April, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began monitoring Suarez, also known as Almlak Benitez, because of his extremist Facebook posts that promoted ISIS.